Javier Bardem Masterful in Biutiful Says London Reviewer

Biutiful

Dir: Alejandro Inarritu

* * * *

Starring: Javier Bardem

Inarittu has never taken the easy route. Amores Perros and 21 Grams testify to this. In Biutiful he navigates the downward slide of Uxbal (Bardem) as he stalks the low-rent back streets of Barcelona - involved in all manner of scams with illegal immigrants and avoiding the police. But there’s a twist – he has prostate cancer and because he’s never had regular check –ups, doctors give him just weeks to live. He’s separated from his wife who suffers from a bipolar disorder – his scenes with her have a bruised quality as he tries to protect his kids from the obvious arguments and upheavals-but Bardem is so effective here. He struggles to maintain a sense of right, even when tragedy strikes (partly his own fault) to a bunch of Chinese immigrants working in a sweatshop. The film’s beating heart is truly Bardem’s and his alone. His tortured face bleeds across almost every frame as the film’s washed-out colours turn the city of Gaudí into a kind of purgatory. The message here though is surely whether the trials and tribulations of the world cause us to withdraw or reach out. Deep in Uxbal’s mind is the sense that reaching out, no matter how slim, is better though his withdrawal is a powerful demon. It’s a reminder that compassion isn’t always a rational decision.

On paper though, it sounds a mess. It’s like another poor wretch on a downhill dance and the role offers Bardem innumerable chances to chew the scenery. Instead, his work is a model of restraint: he invests the role with an affecting, sad-eyed dignity that keeps the story grounded. After the dreadful Babel and (some say, but not I) 21 Grams, Inarritu sticks his head above the parapet and aims high and succeeds. Phoenix will take me to task for loving a film so monumentally depressing but there’s some humour and heart here in a film assembled on instinct rather than reflection.

Lloyd Sellus